On average, tech professionals boosted their salaries by 2 percent, up to $81,327 from $79,384 a year earlier.

Bonuses had a “considerable jump” – up 8 percent to $8,769 and more people received bonuses – 32 percent compared with 29 percent in 2010. The industries that were most likely to pay out bonuses were telecom, hardware, banking, utilities/energy, and software.

Nevertheless, entry-level salaries “continue to be pushed downward,” the survey said. Those seeing salary increases generally had 11 or more years of experience.

“Not to mention, a continuation of the trends we’ve seen toward tech professionals helping their companies gain more insight into their cost structures, customer behavior and emerging trends. If tech professionals spark companies to win by harnessing their data, that’s when the tech department is no longer seen as a cost center, but a strategic partner in meeting companies’ goals.”

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